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The devastating earthquake caused widespread destruction in the northern
areas of Pakistan and Pakistani occupied Kashmir (POK) on 8 October.

Hundreds of thousands of people are yet to receive help after the
devastating earthquake hit Pakistan and Kashmir on 8 October. The
reason? Corruption, repression and political manoeuvring. Khalid
Bhatti, of the Socialist Movement Pakistan (part of the Committee for
a Workers’ International), reports on the role of the military-backed
regime and the right-wing nationalist and religious forces which are
vying for influence.

socialistworld.net

Pakistan after the earthquake

The official death toll is 85,000 and more than 100,000 injured.
According to World Bank and ADB reports, more than 7,000 schools and
3,000 health clinics have been destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of
people are still living in the mountains without proper shelter in
freezing, sub-zero temperatures. The military-led government failed
miserably to provide shelter and basic needs to the affected people.

This earthquake has had a huge effect on the consciousness of the
working people in Pakistan. They are thinking quite differently after
experiencing the tremors. The devastation in the northern part of the
country and POK has shocked the working masses. There are many questions
under discussion about the relief and reconstruction work of the
government, the role of the military and the question of resources.

The most important and widely discussed question is that of defence
expenditure and the role of the military in relief work. It is the first
time that the general public is questioning the high levels of defence
spending. The ruling elite has spent billions of dollars on the
military, while social spending has been drastically reduced. The ruling
elite – which is dominated by the generals – has promoted the myth that
a strong military means a strong Pakistan, so the working masses should
make sacrifices to strengthen national security. The generals pile up
the weapons stocks in the name of national security. Respective
governments completely ignored the social sector and big cuts were made
in education and health. There has been hardly any spending on fire
brigade and rescue services.

The main argument was that these services were no longer required in the
presence of the military. But this myth has been completely exposed in
this disaster. The slow and casual response from the military
establishment gave the lie to the propaganda claim of the last two
decades that the military is the only efficient and reliable institution
in the country and that people should blindly trust the generals in
every situation. This rosy image has not only faded but has been badly
damaged.

The priorities of the generals are also under attack because, for the
first time, the infrastructure of the military has also been exposed.
People were shocked to hear that military aviation has only 26
helicopters, not enough to evacuate a village. Yet the country spends
$3.5 billion on defence every year. Pakistan is a nuclear power but has
no modern equipment to rescue people trapped under rubble. There are
growing demands for a civilian rescue and relief organisation with all
modern facilities and instruments. It will not be easy for the
government to just ignore this demand and continue with its old policy
of blind trust in generals.

The question of resources

The issue of resources for reconstruction and rehabilitation has become
the most contentious. General Pervez Musharraf has flatly refused to cut
the defence budget, but there is a growing demand that he does so. It is
not only the intellectuals which are involved, but ordinary
working-class people are also taking a keen interest in this debate. The
Musharraf regime is saying that it needs $5.2 billion for the
rehabilitation and reconstruction of the affected areas. The government
is also crying that it has no resources and needs help from the
so-called ‘international community’.

At the same time, the government is going ahead with defence deals and
other military expenditure. The government is ready to spend $1 billion
for the purchase of six aircraft from a Swedish company. The deal to
purchase 75 F-16 fighter planes from American company, Lockhead Martin,
worth billions of dollars, is still going on. The government will pay
the first instalment of $1.2 billion in a couple of months. The
construction of new General Headquarters (GHQ) in Islamabad is also
going ahead and will cost millions of dollars. If the money for these
three projects was given to rehabilitation work then the government
would not need any foreign assistance to help the affected people!

There is no shortage of resources, the problem is with the distribution
of these resources. The question of the system is vital in this regard.
There is no possibility that under the present capitalist system, this
money will be spent on the needs of the working people, because that is
against the interests of the ruling elite. Capitalism is a system based
on profits not on needs. A handful of rich people enjoy life at the cost
of the suffering of millions of poor. The interests of big business are
more important than the lives of ordinary working-class people. It is in
the interests of big business and the generals to spend more money on
the piling up of weapons of mass destruction than to spend it on the
needs of the poor.

The overthrow of this rotten and repressive capitalist system is
necessary to improve the lives of working-class people. Socialism is the
only system which can improve and transform the lives of the poor. A
planned economy under the democratic control of the working class will
make the task of rehabilitation and reconstruction much easier and
faster. If the government stopped paying debts to imperialist
international financial institutions and countries, that would provide
enough resources for the rebuilding of schools, hospitals and decent
housing for all the working masses. The price of one F-16 is enough to
build 3,000 primary schools.

The pressure is mounting on the government to cancel the deals to
purchase the fighter aircraft and construct the new GHQ. Socialist
Movement Pakistan (SMP) has already launched the campaign to stop these
projects going ahead. This campaign has got a tremendous response from
ordinary working-class people. It clearly shows that consciousness has
changed significantly.

The working class showed clear mistrust of this corrupt and inefficient
system, as everyone was reluctant to give donations to government.
Working-class people donated generously but, for the first time, they
want to distribute the collected aid themselves. This is a significant
development. People collected the stuff for affected people in every
community but refused to hand it over to government officials. The
disillusionment and mistrust of this corrupt and inefficient system has
reached to the heights. Only the big traders and capitalists give money
to the government – to get more concessions to increase profits and save
taxes. The government was not very happy with this situation and has
tried to discourage working-class people who want to go to the affected
areas.

People are expressing this mistrust very openly: hardly 7-9 % still have
confidence in the government that there will be no corruption in the
relief funds. Any one journey on public transport or one cup of tea at
any public place will give the idea of how much mistrust in the ruling
elite exists in Pakistani society. BBC News organised a survey before
the earthquake asking how many really trust the army, police and
political parties in South Asia. The result from Pakistan was shocking
for the ruling elite: only 22 % said that they trust the army, only 12 %
said they trust the police.

There is widespread anger against the anti-working class policies of the
present regime. The price hike has already gone out control, the
inflation rate is 15%. The prices of all utilities have doubled in the
last two years. The government has given a free hand to big business to
make the maximum profits. There is no control over prices. Transport
fares have increased 50% in the last three months, which means an
increase of 380-450 rupees ($6-8) per month in the budget of a poor
worker. Poverty is on the rise. The neo-liberal policies of the last two
decades have made the lives of the working class miserable. Ordinary
families cannot afford decent food, housing, education and health. All
these basic needs have become luxuries for the working class.

The earthquake has made people’s lives more difficult. It is not only
those living in affected areas who are suffering but the whole working
class of Pakistan is suffering from the greed of big business.

Mullah/military alliance

This earthquake has exposed the secret alliance and close coordination
between the military establishment and the mullahs. The so-called war
between Islamic armed groups and the government disappeared soon after
the disaster. All the banned groups are openly operating in affected
areas and everywhere in Pakistan. The ‘terrorists’ have become angels.
These groups are working closely with the military. The Pakistani media
has launched a propaganda campaign in favour of these armed groups. All
the newspapers and TV channels are giving full coverage to their relief
activities.

The same media is completely ignoring the role the trade unions and
different left groups are playing in relief and rehabilitation. The
media is even ignoring the role of organisations like the Edhi
Foundation (the largest relief and welfare organisation in Pakistan,
well-respected by workers and poor people) because Maulana Edhi has
criticised the role of big business and is not closely linked with the
military establishment. It seems that the reactionary, extreme
right-wing section of the state has used this opportunity to strengthen
itself. This section is also behind the media campaign to promote
fundamentalism as an alternate to the corrupt, parasitic and inefficient
ruling elite. The ruling elite wants to keep the reactionary mullahs on
its side because it is frightened of a possible backlash from the
working class and rural poor.

Muthida Majlas-e-amal (MMA, an alliance of right-wing Islamic parties)
government in North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) proved its
inefficiency and incapability in the earthquake affected areas. Now the
mullahs once again want to enforce the Hibah Bill, which gives the right
to religious police to stop ‘anti-religious’ and ‘immoral’ activities.
SMP calls it the ‘martial law of the mullahs’. The Supreme Court already
declared that the bill was against fundamental human rights. SMP has
pointed out several times the close relationship between the military
establishment and the mullahs. The open activities of the fundamentalist
armed groups pose a threat to the lives of radical trade union and left
activists, as these groups have a history of physical attacks.
Fundamentalist groups are preparing for the next general elections, due
in 2007. The military establishment is also using these religious
parties to balance the nationalist forces.

Sharp rise of nationalism

The earthquake has exposed the weak infrastructure and backwardness of
the northern areas, especially Kashmir and the Hazara region. The people
in Kashmir and Hazara are not satisfied with the relief efforts of the
military government. The militarisation of relief and rehabilitation
work has added insult to the injury. It is most likely that there will
be a sharp rise of nationalism in Kashmir, which might be exploited by
the ruling class to get support from the working masses. The nationalist
forces are not strong or organised enough to cash in on this situation
to muster support immediately. Unfortunately, there is no working-class
party in Kashmir to provide an alternative to the masses, although the
potential for this party does exist.

The situation is no different in NWFP, Sindh and Baluchistan provinces
of Pakistan. Nationalism is on the rise in Pakistan. The situation in
Baluchistan is still tense, with violence and state repression
continuing to dominate politics. The nationalist parties are making
ground as fundamentalism is losing support in many parts of this
province. The situation is no different in NWFP, where mullahs have
ruled since 2002. The nationalist Awami National Party (ANP, which
promotes a Pashtun homeland) is making ground against the religious
parties.

The US regime is also interested to bring ANP back into the provincial
government in the coming elections, as it wants to install secular
Pashtun nationalists in NWFP, which borders Afghanistan. This would
boost the American ally, President Hamid Karzai, and Pashtun nationalism
in Afghanistan. The nationalist forces are trying to get some ground in
Sindh, as the Pakistan People’s Party has weakened in last few years.
The nationalists want a better deal with the generals to get more shares
in the plunder of resources for themselves.

One thing is quite clear: the military-dominated establishment wants to
use both fundamentalism and nationalism to keep the status quo. Both
these forces are reactionary and provide no solution or alternative to
the problems faced by the working class and rural poor.

What is really needed in Pakistan is a party of the working class with a
clear socialist programme. All the main capitalist, nationalist and
religious parties are serving and protecting the interests of big
business and the military establishment. The working class needs a party
which can fight for the rights and interests of the working masses. A
mass party of the working class will be able to end the domination of
the military in economy and politics.

Socialist Movement Pakistan is involved in this struggle to form a
strong revolutionary party of the working class. The rapid growth of SMP
shows the potential that exists. Many trade unions and political
activists are discussing the formation of a new working-class party with
a socialist programme. SMP has already started a discussion on this
issue and is preparing to launch the campaign for its formation. This
will be an important step in the struggle to overthrow this rotten and
repressive capitalist system, and to transform the society on socialist
lines. CWI will have to play a key role in this struggle to liberate the
millions of workers, peasants, unemployed, youth, urban and rural poor,
women and oppressed national and religious minorities from the
exploitation and shackles of capitalism and feudalism.